The rebounding construction industry in North and South Carolina has already seen some major investments in infrastructure, such as the recently completed Raleigh-Durham International Airport terminal modernization, a $68 million project. A recently completed 20-year South Carolina Department of Transportation Commission study found a $29.54 billion gap in funding for transit needs over the next 20 years, making future funding for infrastructure projects an even greater emphasis for the industry.
The Carolinas Associated General Contractors (CAGC) lobbies for funding of building, highway and utility construction projects, and supports its members through tools and resources to help the industry thrive. Since 1920, CAGC has worked to help members influence, plan, grow and connect to other contractors in the Carolinas and beyond. CAGC is a trade association for general contractors, specialty contractors, suppliers and service providers who work in the commercial construction industry throughout North Carolina and South Carolina.
Lobbying On Our Members’ Behalf
CAGC has four full-time staff lobbyists who, along with members' assistance, lobby on behalf of the commercial construction industry. In North Carolina, CAGC led efforts to enact legislation that resulted in a legislative study of the multi-billion-dollar need for public building and utility construction work and permanent funding sources through the year 2025, as well as a new law that takes North Carolina from one of the weakest states to perhaps the strongest state concerning underground safety and damage prevention involving construction. In the upcoming North Carolina legislative session beginning in January 2015, CAGC will work with the transportation coalition it co-founded, NC Go!, to secure long-needed additional transportation funding revenue to support a sustainable North Carolina Department of Transportation program of delivering needed transportation projects and associated maintenance activities.
In South Carolina, CAGC was instrumental in the passage of a $600 million road funding package, which includes $50 million in recurring funds allocated to the State Infrastructure Bank to be bonded for $500 million, $50 million in one-time funds to be used for bridge repair, and moves half of the sales tax on automobiles to the Highway Fund on a recurring basis, generating approximately $41 million annually-- the first increase in highway funds in 20 years!
Carolinas Construction Projects
Other exciting construction projects that have been completed or are nearing completion include the I-485 turbine interchange in Charlotte, the I-77 toll road from Charlotte to Lake Norman, and major investments from Duke Energy in North Carolina and Boeing in South Carolina. Projects like these are making a big impact on the industry. But more funding and projects need to be planned to ensure prevention of ailing infrastructure in the future. Carolinas AGC will continue its crusade to bring positive impact to the Carolinas for its members and the entire construction industry.
Recognition of Members’ Good Work
In recognition of the great work by members, CAGC honors stellar construction projects with the CAGC Pinnacle Awards, the most prestigious recognition in the Carolinas construction industry. The awards honor the work of general contractors and their partners, and projects are awarded in the building, highway, and utility construction categories. A panel of CAGC member representatives evaluates the work of their peers and winning projects are celebrated at CAGC’s Annual Convention each year. Along with the Best Building Project Award, the Best Utility Project Award, and the Best Highway Project Award, CAGC also recognizes the contributions of a non-contractor individual for his or her role in advancing the construction industry and the overall Carolinas economic welfare. This distinguished Build With The Best Award honors individuals from outside the industry altogether or from a Carolinas AGC supplier/service company member. In 2013, this honor was bestowed on North Carolina Representative Mike Hager, who led efforts to rewrite the state’s underground safety/damage prevention laws.
Together with members, Carolinas AGC provides a strong voice in the legislature, advances construction companies, unifies the industry and fuels its future. With 30 volunteer-led committees and five Divisions (representing building, utility, highway, and specialty contractors and supplier/service providers), CAGC provides many opportunities to directly impact the direction of the construction industry in the Carolinas. The CAGC Foundation, Inc. supports the future of the industry through workforce development programs as well as safety, leadership and craftworker education and training. Preparing a qualified workforce continues to be a focus of the Foundation, as a recent Associated General Contractors of America study found that 83 percent of construction firms report having trouble finding qualified workers to meet the growing demand for construction services.
Hear about the latest CAGC initiatives or learn more about membership at www.cagc.org.